


Winning Streak: Rise of the Owlcats

by mousapelli



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Gen, Pro-Bending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-15 03:03:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12312552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mousapelli/pseuds/mousapelli
Summary: Bokuto and Kuroo might have had a rough season last year, but this year the new guy was working out GREAT.





	Winning Streak: Rise of the Owlcats

**Author's Note:**

> Written for SASO 2017 Bonus Round 1: "PRO-BENDING AU!! (i'm open to basically any bending headcanons tbh)"

The Owlcats were having a much better season this year than last year, that's for sure. But only in comparison to how BLAZINGLY TRAGIC last season was, coming in second to last in the entire league. The team that came in last was the Bearbees, and they had a guy who was convinced he could use muscle-bending to force opponents to swan dive off the back ledge.

Compared to that guy, their new third guy was going GREAT.

"But Kurooooo," Bokuto whined in something he probably thought was a whisper. Nobody could whine Kuroo's name like Bokuto, all vowels. "He hates me!"

"He doesn't hate you," Kuroo assured, busy trying to mend the crack in his head guard with red duct tape. He'd taken a rock right to the face last night, and it was almost cracked clean through, fuck the expensive thing. It wasn't _technically_ regulation to play with a compromised head guard, but their sponsorship payment wasn't coming until the end of the week so Kuroo was risking a concussion for the sake of two more days of food. Hopefully if questioned it would be totally plausible that the red tape was just to make his black head guard look badass.

"He doooooooooes," Bokuto insisted. When Kuroo looked up it was hard not to smile, because even the Firebender's hair spikes were drooping with his infinite sadness.

"I can hear you, obviously," Tsukishima commented. He spared them the tiniest, sharpest glance over his shoulder. "And yes, I do hate you."

"See?!" Bokuto demanded, flinging out an accusing pointer finger as if tattling to the teacher about who airbent the paper plane.

"No, you don't~," Kuroo retorted, going back to his tape job. Maybe if he painted a water drop on the tape? And, uh, taped Bokuto and Tsukishima's head guards too. Yeah, that. "Because you know what nobody hates? Winning. And what have we been doing?"

"Winning!" Bokuto exclaimed, perking up immediately. Firebenders, so temperamental.

Tsukishima snuck another glance over his shoulder. "Only two."

"Two in a row!" Kuroo said, like it was the streak of a lifetime. It nearly was the streak of the Owlcats' team lifetime, but Tsukishima didn't need to know that. "C'mon, Tsukki, it takes three for a team, huh? Play along a little."

"Don't call me that," Tsukishima grumbled, but Kuroo caught just the slightest hint of a smirk on the corner of his mouth before he turned away, and that was good enough for Kuroo. They were definitely wearing that guy down.

"Go on," Kuroo hissed to Bokuto in an actual whisper, circling behind to nudge Bokuto forward. "Ask him to work on a combo move with you. Something sneaky, with impact."

"But…" Bokuto took a step forward, looking half-hopeful and half-skeptical that he was going to get yelled at again.

"Think how cool it'll look," Kuroo encouraged, still pushing. "Like one-two, wham BAM! Earth and fire are a natural combination, you know? Think of your fans!"

"Your moms don't count as fans," Tsukishima sneered. But he didn't yell when Bokuto's shoulder bumped into his. Bokuto beamed up at him hopefully.

"Your brother's certainly a fan, though, heyyyy?" Kuroo asked, just to needle, because Tsukishima's face always bunched up in a scowl when they heard Akiteru calling his name from the stands the last two matches. Before Tsukishima could get a good retort off, Kuroo rushed on about their new combination attack. "So what I was thinking was that Bokuto goes center, yeah? So he's an obvious target, but then, Tsukki, you rush in—"

"Don't _call_ me that."

And even though it was a thing that Kuroo had come up with on the spur of the moment just to get Bokuto and Tsukishima to get along, it actually was a decent combo attack, earning them a quick first point in their next match. Tsukishima had a surprisingly light touch for an earthbender, more fine control than the blunt force a lot of them usually showed, or maybe it was just that he had a knack for seeing the whole field. When Kuroo took another stone hit to the side of his head—fuck, this head guard was _done_ —Tsukishima appeared up behind him before his ears stopped ringing, driving his shoulder into Kuroo's to make sure he stumbled sideways instead of tipping backwards over the zone line. They were in Zone 2 as it was, Bokuto back in Zone 3, so it wasn't looking so great this round.

"Thanks!" Kuroo grunted, wincing as Bokuto took a water whip to the ribs while distracted looking over to them, and went skidding off the edge of the platform. "Shit, looks like it's just you and me."

Tsukishima grunted as he took two disc hits on his crossed arm guards, giving Kuroo a chance to stagger to his feet. "Any more genius combo ideas?"

"Left first," Kuroo decided, not in a hurry to be on the business end of Water Whip Guy himself. "I hook his ankle, you get him in the chest, yeah? Count to three."

They darted apart, Tsukishima to the right, Kuroo to the left, Tsukishima mouthing one, two. Kuroo went on two and a half, rolling under a flame punch to do a classic water whip himself, hooking their water bender by the ankle and yanking him off-balance just as Tsukishima's disc caught him square in the chest. He went ass over teakettle backwards, tumbling diagonal halfway across Zone 2 before going right over the edge, the splash so satisfying.

"YEAH," Tsukishima roared, pumping a fist up so hard a disc went with it, skidding uselessly across the field, and Kuroo's heart all but went with it, pounding for sheer joy.

"FUCK HIM UP, BROS," Bokuto's voice came distantly from arena's edge, and Tsukishima looked over his shoulder to catch eyes with Kuroo, eyes glinting behind his athletic goggles, before they both turned to charge their last opponent.

New guy was working out _great_.


End file.
